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University of Winnipeg School threat investigated

(The Daily Gleaner) The University of Winnipeg called in police and extra security guards Thursday, one day after officials discovered a threatening message scrawled on a bathroom wall.

No one would say exactly what the message said, but it was serious enough to prompt the university to close many doors on the downtown campus and urge students to carry identification.

“Specific elements of the message include a threat to the broad university community that was suggested to be taking place on the morning of Wednesday the 26th, which is next week,” said university president Lloyd Axworthy.

Police were still investigating Thursday evening, and had yet to determine whether the threat was legitimate or a prank. But the university decided not to take any chances.

“We’re living in this climate, an atmosphere in which universities have become a target,” Axworthy said.

“We’ve had tragedies at Virginia Tech and Dawson College and (L’Ecole) Polytechnique, so (schools) are no longer those kinds of sanctuaries and we just have to be realistic and pragmatic about how we respond to it.”

Classes continued on schedule, and many students were unaware of the reason for the heightened security.

“I don’t know, I heard it was nothing,” said student Paul Johnson as he waited for a bus on the edge of the small campus. Others strolled between buildings, smiling and chatting with friends.

Officials offered few clues as to what made them treat the threat much more seriously than previous incidents.

“In the past, there have been similar kinds of threats, mainly relating to bomb threats, (but) nothing that has been so directly personal,” Axworthy said. He later added that the threat was not targeted at any individual.